Brendan Miller
In a career filled with brilliant performances and iconic moments, Max Holloway somehow outdid himself in the UFC 300 lightweight fight for the ceremonial “BMF” title against Justin Gaethje. After outclassing Gaethje, Holloway took a crazy risk and challenged Gaethje to position himself and negotiate in the center of the octagon as the final seconds of the fight ticked away. The risk paid off when Holloway knocked out Gaethje with one second left in the fight.
The opening round went as expected, with Holloway’s crisp boxing facing off against Gaethje’s one-shot power. Things changed a lot in the final seconds of the round, however, with Holloway delivering a spinning kick that connected with Gaethje’s nose, apparently breaking it on contact.
The difficult night continued for Gaethje in the second round, with Holloway accidentally poking him in the left eye, although Gaethje took less than a minute to recover before deciding to continue fighting. Another eye poke – this time to the right eye – from Holloway would come minutes later.
Even so, Gaethje continued to try to advance, with strong leg kicks serving as one of his most effective weapons. In response, Holloway opted for jabs and right hands that went to both the body and head, where Gaethje had to keep his mouth open while telling his corner that he couldn’t breathe through his nose.
Gaethje had his best moment of the fight at the end of the fourth round, catching Holloway with a hard right hand behind the ear that briefly surprised the Hawaiian, briefly knocking him to the canvas. Holloway was able to recover quickly and get to the horn.
As Gaethje’s corner pleaded with him to keep the pressure on in the fifth round, it was Holloway who delivered the big shots, unloading with an extended combination that hurt Gaethje and sent him stumbling back into the cage.
As the fight approached the final 10 seconds, Holloway invited Gaethje to the center of the Octagon, pointing to the canvas and suggesting a wild exchange to end the fight. Gaethje, ever the warrior, was willing to oblige and the wild exchange ensued, with both men firing punches until an overhand right from Holloway connected and sent Gaethje falling face first to the canvas with just a second left in the fight.
“All I have to say is I’m him,” Holloway said after the win. “I’m him, guys.”
Holloway then called for a fight with newly crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria or even lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. One thing is for sure, Holloway is the embodiment of the term “BMF” after that performance.
The main event saw Alex Pereira make quick work of Jamahal Hill to retain his light heavyweight title. Pereira, who already held the middleweight title, is hoping for a quick turnaround to fight at UFC 301 in Brazil next month. Additionally, women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili retained her title with a decision over Yan Xiaonan. This fight had some dramatic twists, as Zhang appeared to submit Yan twice in the first two rounds, only for Yan to recover in the middle rounds and give the champion all she could handle.
